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Unheralded Thompson, the 2010 Hooters Tour Player of the Year but winless on the PGA Tour, played the last 12 holes in 6 under par, needed just 22 putts in his round and finished with a 4-under-par 66 to grab the first-round lead.

Woods dominated the marquee group's scorecard on a day that began with patchy clouds but quickly turned into a sunshine-filled morning. Woods, looking to win his 15th major championship and first since the 2008 U.S. Open, found trouble on just two occasions — when he flew his approach on No. 14 over the green and when he found a greenside bunker with his approach on No. 6 — both leading to bogeys.

"Today was basically how I have been hitting it," Woods said. "I figured just keep doing the same things, shape the ball the different directions that we need to today and hit the club that I felt was the appropriate club at the time. Some holes were very different than others, but we had to make that determination before we teed off and be committed to it."

Woods, a two-time winner this season, including in his last start at The Memorial, made a two-putt birdie on No. 17 and back-to-back birdies at Nos. 4-5 to finish at 1-under-par 69. It was the first time he finished under par in the first round of a U.S. Open since 2002 when he went on to win at Bethpage Black on Long Island, N.Y.

"I'm really excited how I was able to execute my game plan all day today and pleased with a 1-under-par round," Woods said. "The golf course was really quick. We knew the greens were going to be a little quicker, but I didn't think they would be this firm this early in the week. And this golf course is only going to get faster."

Thompson ran off five birdies in an eight-hole stretch starting at the drivable par-4 seventh and ended with a birdie on the short par-4 closing hole to shoot 66.

"Feeling really calm and relaxed," Thompson said. "I had a game plan going in. I've been here from Friday practicing, so I felt really comfortable on the course."

Watney was struggling early at 3 over par before he got to the 522-yard par-5 17th. Watney holed out with a 5-iron from 190 yards to go leap immediately to even par. It's the second albatross in as many rounds in a major championship; Louis Oosthuizen had a 2 on the par-5 second in the final round of the Masters.

Another one of the prime pairings, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, looked nothing like the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 players in the world. Playing together in the afternoon, Donald staggered to a 79, defending champ McIlroy shot 77 and Westwood ended up with a 73. Westwood's score is actually better than it sounds: He was 4 over through 6 but 1 under in the remaining 12.

"Too many times I just was in the wrong position off the tee or with my second shot, and it makes it very difficult," said McIroy, who ran away to an eight-shot victory last year. "When you're trying to play catchup on this golf course it's very hard. I was able to make one birdie. I need to try to make more (Friday) and limit the mistakes."

Mickelson, a four-time major champion, hit his first tee shot on No. 9 into a tree — and it never came down. Although he salvaged bogey by making a birdie after re-teeing his ball, he went on to make bogey on his next two holes and added several others en route to a 76. Watson, the reigning Masters champion, hit his opening tee shot into the rough, his second shot went just 10 yards, and he also made bogey at No. 9. Things didn't get much better the rest of the way for the reigning Masters champion as he never looked comfortable and shot 78.

Mickelson and Watson combined for 14 bogeys. Watson also had a double bogey.

"This golf course, it's so demanding," Woods said. "And if you're off your game just a little bit, you're going to pay the price. And it's hard to make pars. Phil and Bubba were off just a little bit. This is one of those Opens where it's just really hard to make birdies."

Thompson lost 2 and 1 to Colt Knost in a 36-hole finale at the U.S. Amateur Championship at Olympic five years ago, and hadn't played a meaningful round on the Lake Course until after he qualified for the U.S. Open last week.

Thompson had three bogeys on his front eight — players were sent off holes Nos. 1 and 9 instead of the usual 1 and 10 during the first two rounds because of the close proximity to the clubhouse — and looked lost for long periods. Instead, he found his groove with a powerful punch at the end.

Thompson had four birdies in his final eight holes, including a putt on 18th that brought the fans from the grandstand to those sitting up the steep hill below the clubhouse to their feet. He gently tossed the ball into the gallery and waved to the crowd. And he didn't seem bothered at all at the attention a certain other group and player received.

"Give Tiger the spotlight," Thompson said. "I don't care. I'm going to go out and play my game. If I go out and putt the way I did today, I'll be in contention."

As advertised: The players were warned: Beware of the first third of the course. Johnny Miller and Tiger Woods said holes 1-6 would be the hardest opening six holes in major championship golf. After the first round, no one would argue.

Five of the holes were among the toughest six on the course, with only the 16th hole — playing at 660 yards in the first round — playing spoiler to this progressive carnage.

The easiest of the opening six holes was No. 4, the dogleg-left, uphill 438-yard par-4 that played to a stroke average of 4.28. The toughest hole was No. 1, a downhill 520-yard monster that came in at an average of 4.58. The fifth and sixth — measuring 498 and 489 yards, respectively — tied for the third hardest hole with an average of 4.51. And the third — a 247-yard par-3 — stubbornly yielded a 3.44 average.

In all, there were 40 birdies made on the six holes. By comparison, the seventh, a drivable par-4 of less than 300 yards, gave up 50 birdies.

There were 51 double-bogeys on the first six holes; the next six saw just 23 double-bogeys. And exactly 350 players made bogeys on the first six.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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